Don't panic! He may look like a pompous bank manager turned Home Guard captain, but Ralph Harvey is nothing like his alter ego.

Ralph, 72, a former stuntman and actor, is relishing his latest role as a Captain Mainwaring impersonator.

Since being 'discovered', he spends much of his time travelling up and down the country with a troupe of lookalikes who play characters from the classic comedy series Dad's Army.

It's the perfect job for Ralph, of Greenacres, Shoreham, combining his military background with a strong interest in acting and theatrical costumes that stretches back five decades.

Ralph's career as Captain Mainwaring took off five years ago thanks to the personal intervention of royalty.

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was visiting Newhaven Fort and saw Ralph's military display team, who dress up as members of different Army units.

During an inspection, the Duke took a great interest in some photographs on the wall featuring the team in their Home Guard uniforms.

He talked about the forthcoming V-J Parade in London, in which every British military unit was represented except the Home Guard and asked whether they would agree to wear their uniforms on the day.

They were delighted to do their bit and when the day came, found themselves marching down The Mall past the entire Royal Family.

Ralph said: "As we marched past, the Duke nudged the Queen. He was very pleased he had managed to get the Home Guard represented and had said he would look out for us. It was an incredible feeling to be in the same parade as the Household Cavalry and Coldstream Guards. As we walked past, there was an enormous cheer and we could hear people saying, 'Look, it's Captain Mainwaring and Dad's Army'.

"It was only then that we realised how many of us in the team really did resemble characters from the series. It was just sheer coincidence."

Ex-sailor Michael Carroll bears more than a passing resemblance to Clive Dunn's character, Lance Corporal Jones. Mainwaring's second-in-command, Sergeant Wilson, is portrayed by George Kimmings, a security guard, while student Alex Hunt fills in for Private Pike.

Since the V-J parade, the bookings have flooded in. The team have found themselves highly in demand at carnivals, fetes and parades. Over the summer months they have engagements almost every weekend.

Last year they were invited by Virgin boss Richard Branson to put in an appearance at a private party on his Oxfordshire estate.

The group has even teamed up with original cast members including Bill Pertwee (Warden Hodges), Ian Lavender (Private Pike), Clive Dunn (L-Cpl Jones) and Frank Williams (the Rev Farthing).

Ralph said: "The actors themselves have told us how much they thought of Arthur Lowe, who played Mainwaring. Apparently he was quite similar to the character he portrayed, but everyone adored him."

The team continues to wear other uniforms for specific events such as those of the airborne artillery unit and the 'Red Caps' or military police.

But it is their Home Guard persona that has proved the most popular.

Ralph said: "Our bookings as Dad's Army have completely overtaken those of any other 'look'. I think the reason we are so popular is that people still adore the series.

"I personally prefer the airborne artillery, which is real soldiering. Dad's Army is play soldiers, but it's still a lot of fun."

Although there is a comic side to Ralph's role as Captain Mainwaring, no one could accuse him of lacking real military credentials.

He served with the RAF during the Second World War and was posted throughout the Middle East working as an Arabic interpreter.

After being demobbed in 1949, he joined the Territorial Army and served with the Royal Artillery and the Sussex Yeomanry Army Cadet Force until 1978.

He has also acted with such stars as Elizabeth Hurley, Barbara Windsor and Joanna Lumley in dozens of films and TV programmes including Surprise Surprise, Dr Who, Howard's Way and Monty Python.